coastline and so divided the Republic into two. Laurie Lee, a British poet and writer who, by his account, served in the International Brigade, summed up the Republican strategy of attacking Teruel: "The gift of Teruel at Christmas had become for the Republicans no more than a poisoned toy. It was meant to be the victory that would change the war; it was indeed the seal of defeat". Casualties Casualties from the Battle of Teruel are difficult to estimate. The Nationalist relief force lost about 14,000 dead, 16,000 wounded and 17,000 sick. In the original Teruel defensive force, including the garrison, casualties were about 9,500, nearly all of whom were dead or captured, which gives a total of 56,500 casualties for the Nationalists. It is very likely that the Republican casualties were 50% higher, or about 85,000. The Republicans lost a large number of prisoners. Round figures would be Nationalists 57,000 and Republicans 85,000, for a total of about 140,000. Celebrities Mathews, Hemingway, Robeson and the British politicians have been mentioned previously, and the battle certainly attracted many other such celebrities. One of them was the Soviet spy Kim Philby, who was nominally a correspondent for The Times covering the war from the Nationalist side. Evidently, he was already under Moscow's orders in Spain but wrote glowing reports about Franco. Near Teruel in December 1937, a shell hit an automobile in which Philby and three other journalists (Bradish Johnson, Eddie Neil and Ernest Sheepshanks) were riding. Philby was the only survivor. Franco personally decorated Philby, who was greatly exhilarated. See also Man's Hope (French: L'Espoir), a 1937 novel by André Malraux which deals with the battle Espoir: Sierra de Teruel, a film based on the Malraux novel List of Spanish Nationalist military equipment of the Spanish Civil War List of Spanish Republican military equipment of the Spanish Civil War Notes References Beevor, Antony. The battle for Spain; the Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. 2006. Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1967 Purcell, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War, (part of the Documentary History Series) (1973) (hardcover) Russell, Ramsey, W. "The Battle Of Teruel," Southern Quarterly (1965) 3#4 pp 334-354. Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War'' (3rd ed. 1986), (paperback) External links Battle of Teruel Photographs, Capa, Robert (1939) International Center of Photography. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 1937 in Spain 1938 in Spain Teruel Conflicts